# Should I weatherstrip my new cooler? (pics)



## StogieJim (Sep 18, 2010)

So I just picked up this 70 qt coleman marine cooler.

Put 2 bowls of distilled last night and maybe 7 boxes, just to get it going, humidity stayed at 57 for over 15 hours 

When I bought the cooler, while cleaning it, i put some water in, closed lid and turned upside down, all the water found its way out.

This cooler says 5 days ice retention, so I figured it was pretty air tight but I guess not...

Anyways, is this normal for a cooler or should I seal it off in the corners as pictured with weather stripping.

If I need the stripping, what exactly should I get and where should I apply it on this cooler? Heres some pics of the corners as well as the handle where you open the lid.

I wanna make sure RH stays up because I plan on filling it with some expensive sticks down the line 




























And yes, temporary holding is in second bathroom tub 

Jim


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## Rock31 (Sep 30, 2010)

Jim my brother...you put 7 boxes in that are going to suck up all that humidity...give it some time  all coolers look like yours in the corners and front, it will stabilize.

I know it's frustrating and I used to be the same way but let it sit, leave it closed...I can almost guarantee it will be fine in a day or two.


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## nutman (Jan 2, 2010)

Put a flashlight in it and see how much light you see. Do it in a completely dark room. If it's bad, then get some thin weatherstripping. I'd use closed cell (it's non porous). What is removed from the lid top should be just so you can open the lid. The seal should not be affected.


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## cedjunior (Apr 7, 2007)

When I had my 150qt cooler laying flat, I never had an issue with humidity. I rarely ever used any humidifiers, I'd just toss something in there ever few weeks when the RH got to about 63% and then remove it when the RH went back up. 

When I converted and went upright with the cooler, then the lid seal became an issue and I had to weather strip it all around to maintain RH. 

I believe when the cooler is laying flat like that, the seal isn't much of a factor since moist air is dense air and it will tend to stay in the cooler when the only way to get out is to go up, like water in a bathtub.

The issue you're having is with adding boxes and using distilled water. The water will evaporate, but very slowly, you need more surface area for the water to evap and raise the RH quicker. You can take a paper towel and soak it with distilled water to the point where its wet, but not dripping wet. If you have enough empty space in the cooler, loosely ball up the wet paper towel and just toss it in there were there is empty space. If the cooler is full, you might try draping a small part of the paper towel over the edge of the cooler so that the lid will close on it and hold it in place.


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## [email protected] (Feb 16, 2011)

Nice cooler bro


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## StogieJim (Sep 18, 2010)

Charles, good call man with the soaked paper towel, I think I'll do that. I figured that bowl of DW would take forever to evaporate!

Gonna do that now. Ive got like 1.5 pounds of KL in there too 

Dave, thanks man, I really like this cooler!

Jim


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## [email protected] (Feb 16, 2011)

hows it coming along? when should it be all done?


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## StogieJim (Sep 18, 2010)

Who knows man, its been at 61 all damn day... which is ok, at least its staying in one place...

Probably like 2 more days. I can probably just throw sticks in now from my smaller cooler and RH will prob jump right to where it should be, but I have friggin cigar OCD so I'll wait 

I'll load sticks the day the Partagas come out of the freezer!


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## Rock31 (Sep 30, 2010)

61 is nice 

Load it up brother!


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## [email protected] (Feb 16, 2011)

StogieJim said:


> Who knows man, its been at 61 all damn day... which is ok, at least its staying in one place...
> 
> Probably like 2 more days. I can probably just throw sticks in now from my smaller cooler and RH will prob jump right to where it should be, but I have friggin cigar OCD so I'll wait
> 
> I'll load sticks the day the Partagas come out of the freezer!


awesome! how many stix you think this thing can hold?


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## StogieJim (Sep 18, 2010)

I dont really know, but it can hold a LOT!!

Gotta start loading it up.

Ray your right man! Gonna load it up after work tomorrow, when I have more time!

Jim


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## Goingyard (Mar 6, 2011)

Congrats on the great score. Good luck getting it up and running.


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